NGOs in Lake Geneva region turn to branding

A mini-revolution is taking place among international and non-governmental organizations in the Geneva area that are borrowing brand and marketing strategies normally used in the corporate world to promote their causes. What appeared to be a savvy trend before the current economic turmoil may now become a financial necessity. International and non-governmental organizations in the not-for-profit sector are competing against a growing number of worthy causes. The Geneva area is home to the highest density of such organizations in the world. Their ability to sustain institutional and private goodwill will depend increasingly on how they stand out, so some are turning for help to the kind of branding and promotional consultants used by big business. 

But this kind of branding is not just about logos, it’s also about improving perceptions of employees. John Kidd, Corporate Communications Manager at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), says that because the world is more competitive “you can’t get by if you send out confused signals”. As early as 2004, he realized that even within his organization there was “a big gap in common understanding”.

Kidd set out to build his organization’s identity in a process that he refers to as “deep branding”. The essence, passion and values were there before, but they needed to be clarified and brought into focus. Only then could the internal business practices begin to reflect those values coherently.

The IUCN turned to the Geneva office of Young & Rubicam to pilot its efforts. “Organisations do understand that they are brands, but they lack the necessary tools and training to tell their story,” says Sue Mizera, managing director of Young & Rubicam Business Consultants and an expert in branding and brand positioning.
 
This is a story that must permeate all the layers inside the organization before it can cross national and cultural frontiers, experts say. Feng Min Kan, senior coordinator for the advocacy and outreach unit of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, admits that her organization faces a crucial challenge. Because of the complexity of the issues at stake and the need to increase the efficiency of dealing with many stakeholders, her unit too has turned to Young & Rubicam for help.
 
The marketing agency works with a client to develop a narrative that coaxes out the organization's strongest values, recognizable to its employees, that can then be used to create effective brands. “If it’s powerful inside, it’s powerful outside” explains Mizera. The novelty of the approach is that it can help build partnerships around core values with other groups, including those in the commercial world.
 
What are non-profit groups doing, jumping in bed with the corporate sector?  “We are all marketing our work, one way or the other,” Feng Min Kan said. When the IUCN and an energy company like Shell work together to realign a pipeline to preserve biodiversity, their values are clearly overlapping, says Kidd.

Sometimes the brand precedes the story. The Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems were created more than 50 years before the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies was formed in 1919. The instantly recognizable emblems remain the universal symbols of the federation's values. Bekele Gelata, the recently appointed secretary general of the federation, told Le Temps newspaper that his organisation uses its strong branding to accomplish “humanitarian diplomacy.” Now he wants to use it to help transform the very habits that are provoking some of the disasters, such as those linked to climate change.
 

“To remain relevant and accessible to all, the IFRC must embrace new ideas and technology,” adds Pierre Kremer, communications manager for the federation. He recognizes the importance of partnerships that are a way of reaching new audiences “particularly the young people who will be the humanitarian leaders of tomorrow”.
 
Evidence suggests that organizations - including those in the business world - that are capable of communicating and sustaining their values may stand a better chance of attracting talent. Several young people questioned for this article declared that a sense of positive ownership was more important to them than financial rewards.
 
Young & Rubicam's Mizera is adamant that companies and organizations should be doubling rather than reducing their branding efforts during the economic downturn. The ones that understand this, she says, will emerge stronger.
Related links:

International Union for Conservation of Nature
UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies  

Young & Rubicam